The Next Batman Second Son has offered some key insights into the Fox family and what has put Tim/Jace on the path to becoming the Next Batman.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers
While The Batman in the comics was a genius, the Batman in the movie is not overtly portrayed as such. Plus, he’d spent an unspecified amount of time training in martial arts with criminals and then in prison with convicts. Obviously, he wasn’t learning advanced thermodynamics heisting Wayne technology with criminals (Batman Begins). The Next Batman Second Son has offered some key insights into the Fox family and what has put Tim/Jace on the path to becoming the Next Batman. The first issue dealt with him being brought back from a special-ops mission in Vietnam by Grifter, while the follow-up saw Luke back in action as Batwing in the wake of “Joker War.“
Lucius Fox’s Family
It shifts its focus to the wider family and offers more details into what actually fractured the family after Lucius inherited Bruce Wayne’s fortune. Lucius may have actually been able to solve the issue but may have lacked the time. He had many other responsibilities and then there was the whole Bane take-over. Had to be been given more time, he may have solved it. In fact, he could have had most of the work done and Bruce just needed to finish it up. There’s no way of knowing.
From Future State, we know Lucius and his wife, Tanya, buy into Mayor Nakano’s idea of martial law, helping create tech for the Magistrate and his sinister surveillance system. It’s a far cry what Bruce did with his family’s company and money, but the Foxes see things differently after “Joker War.” At this point, they’re not really drawing a line between criminals and vigilantes, thinking both contribute to the incessant chaos plaguing the city.
Here, as Lucius charts a course forward, he brings Jace in for a meeting about the reason he went away. They discuss something Jace did as a teen, which could now bring the company down. Apparently, Lucius covered some mysterious incident up years ago and Jace is ashamed, wanting to redeem himself by firstly admitting the truth in a deposition to come.
To make things worse, Lucius is starting to crack after social media abuse online, but Jace calls him petty for acknowledging the haters. He’s just disappointed his dad. For the moment, it’s still not clear what Jace did and why he needed to leave, as the book has hinted at it a lot. Luke’s a spoiled brat, living off dad’s money while not knowing he’s really Batwing.
To top it off, Tam’s sick as well, which might have something to do with the brothers’ tense relationship. For now, Lucius is worried about them being cancelled and as Jace tries to find a way to atone, it could explain why in the future, he’d want to don the cape and cowl and become a new Dark Knight.
